Governor Richardson endorses Barack Obama

I'll try to keep this one short. Today, New Mexico Governor and former presidential candidate Bill Richardson endorsed Barack Obama. The endorsement was highly coveted by both the Clinton and Obama camps, as Richardson is one of the more influential figures in the Democratic Party who had yet to endorse a candidate.

My congratulations go out to Governor Richardson, for finally deciding he could not stand on the sidelines any longer, and solidly endorsing a candidate. Thus far, a number of the big name Democrats--former vice president Al Gore, Speaker of the House Nanci Pelosi, and recent presidential candidate John Edwards to name a few--have declined to take a position for Obama or Clinton, due to their desire to let the primary process play itself out. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Democratic nominee will not be chosen by pledged delegates--the closeness in public opinion polls and primary results between the two has made it progressively less likely that one candidate would win enough pledged delegates to put them within a stone's throw of the 2,025 threshold. So, it has come down to the superdelegates and influential party leaders to choose the nominee.

Unfortunately, they have proven reluctant to do so, mainly because of the closeness of the race between the two Senators. This is unfortunate because as long as there is no solid coalition forming on the side of one candidate, the Democratic will leave the convention as fractured as it will be upon entering it. Its time for the party leadership to take a stand for one candidate, end this senseless feuding between two people with essentially the same beliefs, and start getting ready for what could be a tough general election. Democrats, it is time to make up your minds.

I could write another essay on this, but I promised to keep it short.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/us/politics/21cnd-endorse.html?ref=politics